


Honey and the Hatchet

by wikelia



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: dagstrid?, heathstrid mayyybe?, mostly wanna focus on astrid development, snotstrid?, tuffstrid?, who the hell knows
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-03-25 10:07:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13831929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wikelia/pseuds/wikelia
Summary: Hiccup was supposed to show everyone what dragons were really like. A slight imbalance on her part puts everything into jeopardy, and Astrid is thrown into a world of dragons, politics, hunters, and almost always something or someone trying to kill her. AU for the first HTTYD. Major character death in first chapter.





	1. Chapter 1

One misstep of her foot was all it took.

Suddenly, she had fell off the Night Fury as it took off, shrieking when the giant dragon clamped its teeth right next to her. Hiccup was flying up, up and away to escape, but she was stuck watching him. Had he heard her scream over all the dragons’? 

She got her answer when boy and dragon came diving back down, right as the larger dragon rose up. The jaws clamped around a Hideous Zippleback and the dragon’s heads fell into the abyss as Astrid stared in horror.

She couldn’t move.

She couldn’t move!

Hiccup was tugging at her, yelling, “Come on!” but she was paralyzed. Not in fear, but resignation, almost. Everything was happening all at once - 

\- Hiccup was pulling her onto the Night Fury -

Maybe her uncle really had frozen before he died. Maybe it really was a Hofferson thing. Whether it was or not didn’t change that she’d soon be contributing to the family tradition.

Now she was being thrown forward and holding onto the Night Fury for dear life.

“Go!” Hiccup screamed, and he certainly wasn’t talking to her. The dragon beat its wings as they rose in the air. It was shrieking like mad, as though...as though…

Gods above, it was about to fall.

But Hiccup had been controlling it! So what the Hel was he doing, why wasn’t he doing the legwork, was he trying to get them all killed!?

It dawned on Astrid, like a slow sickness right before it killed you.

Hiccup -

\- hadn’t gotten on -

Hiccup -

“HICCUP!” she screamed, looking down.

Their eyes met, for exactly a second. Tears were streaming down his face, and he looked terrified. His eyes were pleading. Pleading for her to save him. To somehow come down, grab his arm, drag him out of the mountain.

But a second really wasn’t all that much time.

The dragon - the queen of the dragons - rose up again, opened its mouth, and Hiccup was gone. The last face she ever saw on him was horrifying, burned into her mind, as she flew higher and higher, looking down at him being eaten alive.

No one could hear her screams. No other human being was there. And even if there were other vikings around, they wouldn’t be able to make out her pitiful shrieks when hundreds of dragons were shrieking much louder.

But none louder than the Night Fury.

They couldn’t even try.

Both of them continued to scream even as the sharp cold air hit them. The dragon beat its wings one last time, and then they were falling.

She wanted to die. She had let go of the Night Fury’s neck and was now falling on her own, still screaming her throat raw, as though if she screamed loud enough it would bring the heir of Berk back.

But she’d join him. As soon as she hit the ground, she’d be with Hiccup.

Or, she would have been, if the Night Fury hadn’t tackled her halfway and taken the fall for her, leaving her with only bruises and dirt when he let her go to roll onto the rocks.

Vomit was riding in her throat, so she gave out one last, hopeless scream before vomiting the contents of her stomach onto the rocks, her eyes closing as the first few tears fell.

Why hadn’t the dragon let her die?

She wanted to.

Hiccup had been right. His friend wasn’t a killing machine.

Or maybe it was, because the second she stopped vomiting, it pounced on her, pinning her to the ground.

Astrid felt her own snot mixed with the taste of vomit as she struggled to breathe under the Night Fury. Dust was getting in her eyes.

Toothless was what Hiccup had called him.

Toothless probably wanted to kill her himself. Maybe a measly fall that would break all the bones in her body wasn’t enough.

Astrid agreed with him, but as she choked over his claw pressing into her neck, she made the mistake of looking at him.

Really, actually, looking at him.

She’d seen a dragon killed before. But she’d never seen one defeated.

And who had known that it was the death of a human that would cause a beast to look so  
broken? So morose?

His face said all she already knew. She was the reason they were near the mountain in the first place. She was the reason they hadn’t been able to escape. She deserved it.

When she saw her reflection in the dragon’s eyes, she saw the same look Hiccup had been wearing the last second of his life. Toothless hadn’t seen him, he’d been looking up.

And yet, as though he recognized a familiar face, he pulled away from her, looked up to the sky, and screeched so loudly and so painfully it made her dizzier than she already was. Every part of her body screamed in protest.

Toothless ran off towards the mountain, throwing his entire body against it, blasting it, roaring at it. But even if he could break open a mountain, he couldn’t bring someone back to life.

Astrid attempted to get up, and then let out a cry as she fell back down again. The dragon may have spared her death, but she was mistaken in thinking she had only gained cuts and bruises. Something was definitely broken.

Besides her world, of course. 

The dragons still on the island were closing in on her. Every word Hiccup had said rang in her ears, that the dragon were kind and gentle creatures, and that they didn’t really want to harm anyone.

Astrid didn’t have the will, the stamina, or the means to fight them anyway.

She let sleep overtake her, knowing she most likely wouldn’t wake up again. The last thing she saw was a flash of Hiccup’s pleading green eyes looking into her’s, and Toothless’s scream rang out again.

They had discovered the dragons’ nest.

Okay, so bear with me here, I don’t think I’ll be continuing this, but it’s a fun idea to think about. A what if for Hiccup sacrificing himself to get Astrid and Toothless out of the nest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so bear with me here, I don’t think I’ll be continuing this, but it’s a fun idea to think about. A what if for Hiccup sacrificing himself to get Astrid and Toothless out of the nest.
> 
> Is everyone OOC? Yeah, but I’m trying to write again, so…
> 
> If this gets enough attention I MIGHT write a second chapter. I do have things imagined for this story, but I’m also VERY busy, and I’ve started a new HTTYD fandom project that’s gonna require a lot of attention.
> 
> Just...let me know what you think? I guess?


	2. Chapter 2

Well, she wasn’t dead.

That was Astrid’s first thought when she woke up. She was leaning against a large rock, and there were no dragons around her. The sun had risen, recently - an hour before this was typically when she got up to practice her morning routine. 

It wasn’t a dream, at the very least, she was still stuck on an island. She wasn’t losing her mind, at least not in the usual way. And Hiccup was still…

Her...something was still broken, and after moving around a little, it she guessed the something was her rib. It wasn’t a sharp hot pain anymore, but rather a dull that was ...there. Just like she was only there on the island.

Just like Hiccup was only gone.

Turned out, her head was throbbing too.

She spotted the Night Fury near the water, laying down. Had he fended off all the other dragons…? Could he even do that?

She turned her head to look at the mountain, and a multitude of shivers went through her when she remembered that she was next to the largest dragon she had ever laid eyes on. Inside was the beast that killed Hiccup.

Toothless walked closer to her, and she backed away, ignoring the pain. The absolute desperation she’d had before had faded slightly, and while she didn’t particularly want to live, she didn’t quite want to die either.

But he didn’t attack her. He only stared, and Astrid stared back.

Hiccup had talked to the dragon. It was intelligent enough to understand people, so it would understand her too, right? Or was it just Hiccup, just their special bond?

“I need to get off the island,” she croaked, surprising herself with how hoarse her voice sounded, “I have to go back to - to Berk.”

Surely, someone had noticed her and Hiccup were gone. An unpleasant feeling bloomed in her stomach when she realized that she would have to be the one to tell Stoick the Vast that his heir was dead. She would have to admit that his death had been caused by a dragon. And the worst part, she would have to say that Hiccup wouldn’t even want him to kill a dragon as revenge - because Hiccup had done the impossible and befriended one.

Speaking of which, the Night Fury made no indication he understood her.

Dragons didn’t speak. What was she expecting, for him to rumble out a response for her to get on?

It didn’t do that, but it did motion with its head in a manner that said he wanted her to follow, so Astrid shakily got up, stumbling on her feet. She didn’t take a step before she fell forward, hissing out when her hand got cut on a rock. There was no blood, but it stung.

He looked at her as though she was stupid - as if she was falling on purpose. Astrid scowled at the judgemental look, pushing herself up again. She felt a stab of pain, but willed herself to walk, not let it affect her.

There, by the shore, were a few fish. She stared at him with an impassive look on her face, before slowly reaching for one.

Toothless snatched all three of them before she could lay a finger on them, his sudden approach making her pull back with a gasp.

Oh gods, was the dragon’s plan to keep her here and starve her? To torment her, as he slowly ate every food he brought? To kill her slowly, begging for food or release?

It didn’t register to her that she was jumping to conclusions rather fast until Toothless made a strange gurgling sound, and the three fish were at her feet, half eaten.

Astrid scrunched her nose, taking two steps back and glaring at the dragon, who was looking at her expectantly.

“What, you think I’m gonna - oh no.” She let out a delirious laugh, shaking her head, “I am not eating your disgusting crud. Thanks, but I have a habit of not eating things that’ll make me sick.”

Tufts of air came out from his nose as he glared at her. Astrid stood her ground, glaring right back, even going so far as to kick the fish away.

Wrong move. The dragon let out a furious roar, forcing her to take three steps back. Well, fuck - how was she supposed to know the mannerisms of dragon dining? 

It didn’t take its eyes off her as it ate the fish again, slowly and deliberately. What a petty little -

Well, she didn’t need the damn dragon. Taking off her skirt and throwing it to the side, she padded into the water, shivering when she felt how cold it was. There had to be fish, she had to show that stupid dragon that she could survive without his help. She waded in as deep as she could.

There were a few little ones, but nothing that could qualify as a meal. Then she saw it.

It was a halibut, swimming along its merry way. Well, unfortunately, the merry life came to an end now, because she needed to eat.

Astrid lunged forward just as something wacked at her legs. She fell with a shriek, as she both felt the pain in her rib explode and the breath get sucked out of her lungs as she went underwater. 

When she was five, she had fallen, just like this, into the water, and it had been horrible. She had kicked and screamed and cried in the few seconds before her mother lifted her out of the water, with her father throwing his oversized cloak over her and both of them checking her over.

Her younger self had sworn off swimming that day. The other teens learned - even Hiccup, although he was lagging behind the whole time - but she had stayed away, never wanting to experience that terrifying feeling again.

And yet, here she was.

When she managed to stand up, gasping and spitting out water, she opened her eyes quick enough to see the Night Fury devouring the halibut whole, smirking at her.

Astrid let out a shriek of indignation. It really was torturing her. Maybe it didn’t want to kill her, but rather wanted her to end herself.

She wiped the water out of her eyes and went back onto the island. The sharp pain was back after the two falls, and pathetically, she fell to the floor, breathing heavily and shutting her eyes tight. It hurt so much.

Behind her, she heard the Night Fury laughing.

Furious, Astrid turned around, still sitting, and screamed.

“Do whatever you want, you demon!” Astrid had thought she had no tears left, but she proven wrong as her chest heaved. “It won’t bring him back! He’s still dead! Hiccup is dead!”

For the first time, she didn’t care that the dragon looked furious. Oh, so it was a Night Fury, big fucking deal. She could be just as horrible and petty.

“You can kill me, you can starve me, you can burn down every resource on this island, but it won’t bring him back!” She clenched her fists and swallowed. “I-if there was a way to bring him back, I would have done it already! I - I would have…” Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath. “I would have…done it already...”

She would have. She would have. Even now - if Odin could come down and tell her these was a way to bring Hiccup back to life, she would.

She expected death. Saying something so dirty, snooping so low, should have gotten her killed.

Astrid didn’t open her eyes, scared that the minute she did, it would kill her, so that she would see it. She refused to submit herself to that.

Something finally hit her face, but it wasn’t anything hot, it was...scaly.

She opened her eyes to see a minnow lying in front of her, and a few feet away, Toothless looking, with no expression on his face. It wasn’t half eaten, and perfectly fresh.

Astrid levelled her gaze on the dragon, and then, deciding that she finally had to swallow her pride, picked up the fish. “I need a fire.”

Toothless grumbled, coming closer as she cleared some rocks away. At the very least, she did know how to survive on an island (and would have gotten the damn fish if he hadn’t pushed her) so a fire was no problem.

But even that the dragon refused to let her do on her own. He barely waited for her to move her hands before he shot at the ground, and the nearly blinding purple light turned into a bright orange fire.

She shot him another glare, and he snorted.

The fish took a good few minutes to be edible. She’d had to cook carefully so she wouldn’t burn her hands - there was no stick she could skewer with, the island was just made up of rocks.

As she ate, she observed the dragon carefully. She knew he couldn’t fly on his own - hence her broken rib - and that someone needed to operate the fin. Well, wasn’t that absolutely spectacular, seeing as it was something she’d probably never figure out?

The only way back would be to sail (she swiftly ignored the thought in her head asking what she would do when she got back). She had seen a boat last night - only it was hung up on a rock, and destroyed. Well, fuck.

“We need to get off the island.” When Toothless looked at her, she waved a hand to make a sailing motion. “I have to go back.”

If a dragon could look unimpressed, then he looked unimpressed.

“Okay - listen, you really, really deserved me being mad at you.”

His eyes flicked down to the fish in her hands, and back up at her face.

“Yeah, you made up for it. So it’s a truce, isn’t it? Or is now the part where you go back to being a dick?”

Toothless’s expression changed from dubious to irritated rather quickly, but this time, she saw what was coming.

Not wasting a second, she brought the rest of the fish up to her face and stuffed it in her mouth, right as the dragon lunged.

Her cheeks bulging with food, she smirked at the dragon victoriously.

Then, the strangest thing happened - it started to pout.

It. Started. To. Pout.

But since she wasn’t affected (okay, maybe just a little affected), she simply spit it out on the floor and said, “Let’s see how you like -”

The dragon eagerly dived down, and slurped up the fish, nearly making her throw up in her mouth. Yeah, she was definitely no longer hungry.

The demon didn’t seem to understand that she hadn’t done it to be nice. He was now doing some sort of weird gummy smile at her (it was seriously creepy) before it nudged to her side.

Astrid sighed. “Oh, so sharing food made you like me?”

No wonder they’d managed to kill dragons for centuries - they were Thor-damned stupid. He was an idiot if he thought she was trying to be his friend.

“Whatever.” She scooted away, staring him dead in the eye. “So, are you going to help me get off or not? Maybe I can make some boat if you can show me if there’s any logs on this island -”

It was nudging up to her again! This time, Toothless pressed his nose into her hand, and then opened his eyes wide, as though he had shown her something brilliant.

Astrid gave him a deadpan look. “That doesn’t help.”

He kept himself there for a few seconds before beating his wings. A gust of wind hit her face and Astrid got a mouthful of her own hair. She spit it out, glaring at the dragon yet again.

He was demonstrating something to her. He couldn’t be telling her to fly him, because he wasn’t that stupid. He must have known she couldn't. But then what was he…

When it hit her, she made a face before the words came out of her mouth.

“Fly another dragon?” She growled lightly. “In your dreams, demon! In your dreams! There is no way I’m getting on a disgusting…”

He nudged into her hand again.

“vile -”

He looked towards the sky.

“horrible -”

He finally roared at her, just as she shouted, “ - dragon!”

The dragon roared again and left her, running back to the seashore. Good riddance! Flying a dragon, what kind of maniac would…

Hiccup would. He had. Wasn’t that the whole reason they were there?

Astrid suddenly felt a stab of anger at Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third.

He’d been good for nothing. A disappointment. Then he’d gotten in her way. Then he’d become some macho dragon fighter and taken her spot, while cheating his way to the top. He’d been infuriating, and horrible, and a dirty cheat.

And then he had the gall to go die and leave her here after turning her world upside down.

The fucking prick.

Astrid felt like crying again, but she didn't. She laid down on her back and screamed out every curse word she knew, and by the end, her throat hurt and she had forgotten who she was mad at.

Toothless left her alone for the rest of the day. She got her own fish and made her own fire and ate by herself. When she wasn’t doing that, she was thinking.

Fat lot of good that did. Nothing was accomplished.

The cold settled in as night fell, the comforting presence of the sun gone again. No dragons appeared overhead - there must not have been any raids tonight. Maybe Her Highness The Dragon Queen was full.

Her hands were cold to the touch, and so was her face. She didn’t dare run her fingers through her hair, scared of the tangles. She most definitely had a fever.

She heard Toothless come up behind her, and she faced him. He was observing her carefully - from what she could tell - and he made a motion, as though he was about to spread his wings but changed his mind, going off the other way.

“Wait.”

The dragon turned its head, his eyes somehow appearing bright even in the dark.

“Okay,” she said, her teeth chattering, “I’ll train the damned dragon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was very fun to right but I’m panicking because I have an essay due tomorrow and I haven’t written a single word of it.


	3. Chapter 3

 

The next morning, there was fish in front of her.

Astrid sat up, brushing her hands through her hair, which was really tangled now. She probably looked feral. The thought made her cringe a little.

Toothless was prowling in front of her - it looked a little similar to pacing. He hadn’t seen her wake up yet.

She poked the fish, and called out, “Was this thing in your mouth?”

He looked at her, a small puff of air escaping his nose, and stepped forward, staring at her as though she was being ridiculous (maybe that was his normal face, and she only thought it meant that because she herself thought she was being ridiculous).

Astrid took her time making a fire, but didn’t waste any eating the fish after it was cooked, savoring each bite. She didn’t taste spit, thankfully. 

The second she finished the last bite, she didn’t even get the chance to lick her fingers before Toothless was nudging her, trying to make her stand up.

“What?” she snapped, stumbling to her feet. “You need me to scratch you or something?”

She got a tail whack for that one, but remained standing where she was.

He stared at her impatiently before looking towards the other side of the island. The dragon trotted behind her.

“Hey, hey! Hey!” She yelped when he went under her, shoving her on his back before making a run for it. Her rib exploded in pain again, but she only grit her teeth and grabbed onto the saddle. That was when Astrid remembered her promise last night, that she was going to train a dragon.

A dragon.

She swallowed. What kind of dragon would she train? How would she even train it? And while she could just land in the forests of Berk where no one would see her, how would she explain how she had gotten back?

And then was it back to a life of dragon killing?

Astrid sighed, even as her fingers clutched Hiccup’s saddle so she wouldn’t fall off Toothless, who was still running, showing no signs of stopping. Even if she wasn’t particularly fond of the Night Fury, going back to killing dragons would be an insult to Hiccup’s memory.

And of course, there was the bigger picture, which was that this could legitimately stop the war. 

But the queen would have to go first. And the thought of even seeing her again made Astrid nauseous.

It was too, too much to worry about. Becoming a dragon killer sounded like a piece of cake compared to the task ahead of her.

Finally Toothless stopped, very nearly throwing her off. And then there were dragons.

Oh Thor, there were dragons.

None of them seemed to notice her. They were going about their business, but Astrid bowed her head down, grateful that the wild hair at least concealed her face.

She leaned down enough for Toothless to hear her and whispered, “Now what?”

He let out a tiny snort, as though to ask her how he was supposed to know, so she sighed, slowly getting off and looking around.

Well, it was time to solve the first problem. Which dragon would it be?

Astrid took one step towards a Deadly Nadder that was grooming itself but Toothless stepped in front of her almost immediately, shaking his head.

“Why not?” she hissed. She figured it would be best, since a Gronckle was too slow, a Hideous Zippleback too exotic (would she have to train both heads?), and a Monstrous Nightmare too, well, monstrous.

He spread out his wings and made out a flying motion before jumping into the air. The Nadder that she had been about to reach got started and flew away from them.

“Yeah, to fly off. Why not a Deadly -” She paused, furrowing her brows as something occurred to her. She didn’t know if it was the same thing Toothless was telling her, but it was a clear reason why she couldn’t train a Deadly Nadder.

She was planning on bringing Toothless with her, if he was willing to go. Hiccup would never want him stuck on an island, unable to fly. If she took him back to Berk, maybe she could look at Hiccup’s notes, or ask Gobber for help without letting him know what she was doing, and make some sort of tailfin that would let him fly on his own. Then they could part ways.

But there was no way a Deadly Nadder could lift a Night Fury. In fact, the only one that could was probably…

She swallowed. A Monstrous Nightmare.

Astrid turned, and she fixated on the one her eyes landed on first. A huge, blood red dragon that was lounging on a rock. She took two steps towards it.

The Nightmare looked up abruptly, and her heart nearly stopped beating. She looked back at Toothless, but he was just staring at her expectantly. No help there.

“Hey, dragon,” she said quietly, knowing it wouldn’t hear her. She took another two steps, and held up both hands. She was shaking.

She had no weapon, her rib was broken, and if this dragon wanted to kill her, it would have no problem.

The Nightmare looked up at her, at first with a blank face, but when it saw her getting closer, it growled, very quickly getting off the rock and closer to her.

Astrid stepped back, taking a shaky breath. She outstretched her hands.

Now that it was so close, she could see a bola mark on its neck. Oh, great. Some idiot had to seal her fate for her.

“I won’t give up,” she whispered under her breath, reciting the words to a song her mother used to sing to her, “That’s one thing I swear will be true. For it’s said by the wise, keep your eyes on the prize.”

The memory of her mother, who was probably at home sick with worry, made her a little bolder.

“And I’ve got my eyes on you.”

Astrid stepped closer, and now her and the dragon were almost touching. It was staring at her with a silent fury, but she held still.

Then she took a leap of faith and touched the bola mark gently.

It growled, baring its teeth, and Astrid shut her eyes, but the Nightmare made no move to kill her. She took a shaky breath, opening her eyes and looked into the dragon’s eyes.

Her mother’s song continued to aid her. “It’s hard to trust, when you’ve been misunderstood.” She kneeled down and whispered, “Starting now, we’ll be treated like we should.”

It was still glaring, but now that she knew it didn’t plan to kill her, she stood up. “So let’s take this ride till it’s true.”

Come on, come on. Almost there. That had to be enough bonding, right?

Astrid slowly went behind it, and placed one leg over it’s neck.

Big mistake.

Toothless roared as the Nightmare took off and Astrid screamed. Her hands found the Nightmare’s horns immediately and she gasped as they got higher and higher.

If he got too high, she wouldn’t be able to breathe.

Astrid began to scream, hoping it could hear over the wind pounding. “I won’t give up, that’s one thing I swear will be true! And I won’t give in, I’m stronger than they ever knew!”

Odin give her strength.

“Don’t try to run, cause I’ll just be there when you do!”

She tugged on its horns, grunting. The Nightmare stopped all of a sudden, propelling her upwards, and she would have fallen if she hadn’t been gripping the horns so tightly. She was still screaming her mother’s song - if her strength wouldn’t matter, she still wanted to be thinking of her mother when she died.

Then the Monstrous Nightmare went plunging down and Astrid lost all thought, only focusing on staying close to the dragon.

Right as they were about to hit the ground, it flattened out its wings and she gasped, panting as they landed smoothly on the ground.

She was alive.

She didn’t even realize she was still mindlessly saying the words of the song. “- for it’s said by the wise, keep your eyes on the prize.”

She stepped off after it lowered it’s neck. The Nightmare turned to face her, no longer furious but looking almost wise, before bowing its head.

Astrid breathed softly in shock. It was as though they reached an understanding...some form of acceptance that she was just as strong as the dragon.

“And I’ve got my eyes on you.” 

Toothless came up to her side, roaring at the Nightmare loudly enough for it to step back. Not it, Astrid was pretty sure it was a she. 

Putting a hand on Toothless’s snout, she said, “Stop. It’s okay, I think we’re good to go home.”

Home. Oh gods, home. She could go home.

She faced Toothless and frowned when he looked up at her. “You’re coming too, right?”

He snorted, nudging into her side. She felt a dull pain, but pushed it to the side.

“You can’t be trapped here forever. Hiccup wouldn’t want you to be.” She took a step back. “The Nightmare can carry you. We can go. Please.”

Toothless bowed his head, and Astrid took it as a yes.

She got onto the Monstrous Nightmare and leaned close to it, whispering, “Can you pick him up?”

She answered by spreading her enormous wings and gently rising in the air, her claws hooking onto Toothless’s saddle and lifting him off the ground. Astrid sighed in relief.

It was ridiculously uncomfortable without a saddle, but she’d manage.

“It won’t be too far, I promise.” She held onto the horns again, trying to calm her nerves. This was crazy. Hiccup had been crazy.

As they left the island, Astrid looked back at the mountain. She swallowed, a few tears blurring her vision. Hiccup was never going to escape. He was dead. And it was her fault.

It was a short trip - if she had to guess, it was noon when she saw her island, and her breath hitched.

Finally.

“Alright, I’ll drop you off in the cove, okay?” Her eyes scanned the village. “Both of you can hide out there while -”

“GET THEM DOWN!”

Astrid looked down in alarm as two bolas whipped their way towards them, and she had no time to even yell out before there was one around the Nightmare, and one around Toothless, and all three of them were falling.

The dragons both started to bellow in different ways, but she didn’t scream this time. She shut her eyes, her mind going into overdrive. Gods above, they were about to see her on a dragon. There was no time to come up with a plan, no time to think of anything.

The only time a scream escaped her was when they hit the ground and she fell off, her rib protesting violently. 

The villagers pounced immediately, grabbing at the dragons’ mouths before they could shoot, and shoving them down. She could barely lift a finger to stop them.

No, no, no. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

She heard her mother gasp. “Astrid?”

There was an outburst of shouts, but no one made any move to help her up. It wasn’t long before the focus turned to Toothless.  

“Odin’s beard!” That was Gobber. “Night Fury!”

“Out of my way!”

The chief.

Astrid managed to look up as he stared down at her, more angry than she’d ever seen any dragon. In that moment, she was more terrified than when she’d been on a wild dragon ride.

He didn’t ask her anything. He looked at the dragons, his eyes focusing down on Toothless.

“Put him with the others. Kill the other one.”

“No!” she managed to scream out, right as a sword came down, separating the Nightmare’s head from its body. 

Astrid struggled to get up, but it was no use. The deed was done. The dragon wouldn’t even have been on Berk if not for her. That was two deaths on her conscience.

Her outcry caused more yelling, and her head spun. Toothless was strong, but even he couldn’t fight the dozens of men handling him, with a bola already pinning him down.

“Astrid Hofferson!” the chief thundered, glaring down at her. Her eyes found the other teens, who were simply looking confused, and sympathetic.

Her mother had no expression on her face.

“Astrid Hofferson, you are under arrest!”

“What?” she whispered weakly. After screaming, her voice held no more will to go any higher than that. 

Surely, surely they couldn’t do this.

“You are under arrest, for the murder of my son!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Stormfly has lifted Toothless, and so a Nadder can lift a Night Fury, but Astrid doesn’t know that, and it wouldn’t seem like it at first glance.
> 
> The song that Astrid is reciting is I’ve Got My Eyes On You from Disney Enchanted Tales.
> 
> A lot happened this chapter! Also, it’s the first time I’ve written so much for HTTYD in forever.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? I’m updating? Posting a chapter of a multi-chapter fic? Damn, maybe I’ve lost my mind.

“I won’t give up, that’s one thing I swear will be true…”

Astrid sang quietly to herself in the cell, trying to find a position to lie down that didn’t make her sore. She mentally swore that once she got out of here, there was no way she was coming back. Jail cells weren’t comfortable.

Of course, there were her nightmares too. Horrific dreams where Hiccup pulled her down with him, or left her behind, or worse - when he appeared as some kind of spirit telling her it was her fault he died. Which it was.

Some of the dreams had the Monstrous Nightmare she’d befriended, the dragon’s eyes haunting her as an axe was brought down on the creature. In some of the dreams her and Toothless were executed as well.

It had only been two nights.

Two nights, and so many horrors.

Astrid woke up at the crack of dawn, her neck aching. Just something to add to the list, she thought bitterly. Her injuries hadn’t been tended to at all.

No questions had been asked either. Everyone looked horrified that she had been on the back of a dragon, but the crime that she was being punished for was the murder of Berk’s heir, and while she agreed - it was her fault - how could the Berkians possibly know what had happened at the dragons’ nest?

Astrid sat up, leaning her head against the wall and panting. Her stomach growled. She’d been sitting in the cell since noon two days ago, with not a visitor in sight, and no one to feed her. She’d called for assistance, but no one came.

All she had there was a dusty broom and a bucket for her bathroom needs. Nothing else at all.

If the gods were punishing her, they were doing a great job.

Her mother’s eyes kept haunting her too, and it only intensified when she didn’t come to see her.

Why couldn’t anyone at least come to tell her what was going to happen to her now?

“For it’s said by the wise, keep your eyes on the prize…”

“It’s also said by the wise that singing to yourself is a sign of madness.”

Astrid’s head snapped up to see Ruffnut Thorston, her hands on the bars, grinning at her.

“Hey, pretty lady.”

Astrid scoffed, stumbling to stand up and walk over to her. She motioned to her hair and face before saying hoarsely, “Not really...pretty, right now.”

“Damn, your voice sounds awful.” Ruff wrinkled her nose and turned around, picking up what Astrid saw was a wrap. She slid it through the bars. “Here. Bread, a comb, and some hair ties.”

Astrid grabbed the bread first, taking a huge bite out of it and savoring the taste. Ruff had clearly taken something fresh, because the bread was warm, and soft, and absolutely perfect.

Eating hurt, though, and she sat down in front of the bars, taking a deep breath.

“Where did you…”

Ruff smirked. “Stole it from Tuff. The idiot thought he already ate it.”

Both girls were quiet for a few seconds as Astrid snarfed down the rest of the bread. She licked her fingers - even though there wasn’t much to lick - and then mourned the fact that Ruff had brought no water, until the girl produced a flask of just that.

She was greedy about every last drop.

“You’ll get in trouble,” Astrid said when she was done, feeling a little dizzy. She forced herself to focus on Ruffnut.

“Not if no one knows.” She kneeled down so the two girls were face to face. “So…”

Astrid sat back and leaned against the wall, wrapping an arm around herself. “So?”

She had a feeling that she wasn’t going to like what was going to follow.

Ruff’s lips quirked into a smile. “Was the murder brutal, or -”

Astrid threw the flask at her as hard as she could as a wave of nausea overcame her. She knew Ruff was joking, and she didn’t really think that she had killed Hiccup, but his actual death was still fresh in her mind, and probably always would be. 

She’d never be able to joke about it. 

Ruffnut ducked, laughing as she looked at her. “Do you know where he is, at least?”

“He’s dead,” Astrid said without any trace of humor, looking down and trying to fight her stomach’s will, “but I didn’t...well, I…”

She looked up to see Ruff’s eyes widened and her hands gripping the bars tightly. “Holy shit. He’s actually gone? What happened, Astrid? Where did you go? How the hell did the dragons get you?”

Astrid opened her mouth, not to answer, but to say that she could never just casually tell Ruffnut as though it was some bedtime story. She couldn’t dishonor Hiccup like that. There had to be a - a better time, a better place, and gods, couldn’t she see Gothi first? She didn’t get a chance to say any of this, however - because there were footsteps, and Ruff had to scramble away.

She sat back and breathed heavily as the chief came in. His eyes were blazing, there was bloody murder in them.

“I didn’t -” Astrid managed to get out before he opened the cell and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her to her feet and dragging her out. Astrid shut her eyes, tearing up. The pain was getting to her, gods, she needed Gothi.

Two men took her, holding her by the arms firmly as they followed the chief.

It was humiliating. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her, watching her dragged around like some sort of - some sort of criminal. The only good thing was that they weren’t making her walk, but that wasn’t all too helpful - the chief’s roughness had done enough for her to be biting the inside of her lip to stop from screaming.

Astrid tasted blood.

Their destination was the Kill Ring, where the two men unceremoniously threw her to the floor. Astrid bit back a sob - this wasn’t how prisoners were treated, they weren’t put on show for the whole village to come and gawk at. Why…

She knew why. It was because Hiccup was gone. It was because Chief Stoick was broken.

“Astrid Hofferson!”

Astrid struggled to sit on her knees and looked up beyond the bars, to see the chief sitting on his chair, looking down at her. Quite a number of people had gathered, and Astrid felt a stab of fury mixed with her grief.

How dare they? How dare they think the worst of her? How dare they think she would murder her heir? And how dare they all come to watch her humiliated like this?

Had she made enemies in her fifteen years of life, or were her people just backstabbers?

“You are on trial for the murder of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third!”

She trembled, this time in anger, as she looked up at everyone who was gawking, and then - her mother. Standing right next to the chief, she made no motion to indicate that it was her daughter who was being degraded in front of the entire village.

“The murder of the heir of Berk, and my son.” If looks could kill, he would have ended her by now.

Astrid looked at him, really looked at him, and pleaded quietly, “I didn’t kill him.”

She had, but not in any way Stoick could possibly imagine.

“Lies!”

“What’s your proof?” She wished someone else would ask. It was hurting to speak now.

Stoick made a motion to someone behind him and then turned around, showing her...her axe.

Astrid gasped softly and her eyes widened, as Stoick ran his thumb over the blade. “We found this on the island when we started looking for you. The others said you had been quite jealous of my boy’s success.”

At this, Astrid looked around until her eyes fell on the teens - Ruffnut, who had probably just arrived, looked breathless, and the others looked confused but guilty. Served them right.

Snotlout’s eyes met hers and she saw him grip the bars a little tighter, but she looked away.

Stoick was about to say more when Gobber spoke up, cutting him off. “Lass, we dinnae want tae think the worst of ye, but we need some proof that ye did nae do it.”

The chief did not agree with this sentiment, but Astrid seized her chance. She bit down hard on her tongue and stood up, gasping in pain but shouting out, “There is no blood on that axe! There is no body where the axe was found!”

“So where is the body? Where is Hiccup? WHERE IS MY BOY?” Stoick stood up as he started shouting furiously and Astrid, feeling another wave of dizziness, stepped back, trying not to fall.

“He...he…” Astrid swallowed, shaking. “He’s dead.”

All around the Kill Ring, people erupted into shouting, many of them pointing at her as though she had just confessed. Stoick was nearly red with rage, and Gobber looked devastated. Her mom had a silent fury in her eyes, the kind that would normally mean she was about to get a flogging.

“I didn’t kill him!” She looked down, clenching her fists. “I - we were - we were ambushed by dragons, and he died saving me!” 

It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it was close enough. Hiccup had died saving her, and it had been because of a dragon. She just forgot to mention that it wa a dragon who had saved her as well.

“The...the Nightmare found me.” She swallowed, keeping her eyes on the ground as tears blurred her vision. “He t-took me back to the nest. Then the Night Fury showed up.”

There were no whispers anymore. That one sentence seemed like something that had turned the tides, and it had. It really had. The Night Fury “showing up” had turned her entire life upside down.

“I don’t know what happened. But suddenly we were heading back to Berk.” Astrid looked up at the chief, squinting because of the tears. “I was jealous, yes, but not jealous enough to have him killed. I’m not a maniac.”

(She looked like one, though.)

Stoick didn’t look any less angry, but her mother’s expression changed. Instead of one of understanding, or of guilt, it became one of disgust. Disgust at her, she could tell.

She was the one who had failed to protect the heir.

“Take her back to the cell.”

Astrid groaned under her breath, her head bowing again. No, no, no, not back there, not back to solitude and nightmares and pain -

“Wait, Chief!” a voice rang out.

Everyone’s head swerved. 

There were certain people she’d wanted to speak out on her behalf. But she didn’t want someone whose family was in an even lower rank than her own. She didn’t want someone who no one would take seriously. She didn’t want Tuffnut Thorston to be the one speaking out.

“She’s hurt,” Tuff said matter-of-factly, “she needs medical care.”

Mrs. Thorstons’ audible gasp rang across the room as everyone broke into muttering. Who was he to address the chief at a time like this, and in favor of the one he hated most at the moment? Tuff met Astrid’s eyes for a second. He looked more serious than she’d ever seen him.

“Criminals do not -” Stoick began.

“Yes, they do, Chief,” Gobber interrupted sharply. 

Stoick’s fists clenched, but he nodded to Gothi, who gestured to Gobber to go fetch Astrid, who breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at Tuffnut, but he wasn’t looking at her anymore. He was engaged in an argument with Snotlout.

Did Snotlout seriously want her to go rot in jail? 

Gobber picked her up gently. Her arm flopped and she looked up as people started leaving the arena. The show was over.

“Astrid,” Gobber said gently, “does this hurt?”

She looked up at him and said as calmly as she possibly could without screaming, “Everything hurts.”

As they followed Gothi to her hut, they passed her mother.

Astrid’s thoughts were filled with two things. One, that it was stupidly impractical that Gothi live so high up and far when she was the town healer.

And second, she sincerely hoped that no one would look at her the same Ingrid Hofferson just had ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review! I am pretty invested in this, but I have carpal tunnel, which leaves me with zero motivation to write.


End file.
